Up until that point, she had always said, “oh, you just throw a little of whatever you have on hand in there…” without many specifics.

And that just won’t do.

What can I say? I like being able to recreate recipes over and over again.

And I like sharing them here so you can make them in your own kitchen, too!

A key part of any beef goulash dinner is to have mashed potatoes to use as a base that you ladle the goulash over.

I had made a batch of Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes a few days before she came to town (to serve with lamb shanks – recipe coming soon!!), so I had those in the fridge already.

You could use instant mashed potatoes from a box (my stepmom often did!), or ones that you make on the stovetop – you could even buy some pre-made mashed potatoes from the grocery store or a local restaurant.

Or if you have two Instant Pots, I’m soooo jealous you could make the potatoes in one pot and the goulash in another. They’re both so simple to make that it is TOTALLY feasible. Even on a weeknight!

So I was all ready to try making this beef goulash on the stovetop, and she was telling me that you just keep adding water whenever the meat starts drying out. It has to cook for hours and hours so that the cheap cut of meat can get nice and tender.

So it dawned on me – why not convert this beef goulash recipe into one that I could make in my Instant Pot? Pressure cooking cuts the cook time down by a LOT, and since the pot is covered, I didn’t need to worry about the liquid evaporating too much.

I wanted to make sure that there was enough liquid in the pot without it being too much that you couldn’t safely do a quick release of the pressure.

I didn’t want to wait for the pressure to drop naturally. I wanted a quick, delicious, comfort food meal in a fraction of the time.

And I so nailed it!

I have to say – this version of her great-great grandma’s recipe turned out FANTASTICALLY! It brought me right back to my middle school days, eating beef goulash in our kitchen in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Turns out this recipe may go back even farther than that – her mom only remembers it as far back as her great grandma. So now with my son, I’m bringing this to (at least) a 6th generation.

Though my 6-year-old is a serious mashed potato hater and won’t touch them these days, but hopefully that will change soon.

What are some of your favorite childhood dishes? I’d love to hear about them in the comments section below!

Looking for more comfort food recipes? Check out some of our favorites:

Description

This easy beef goulash recipe has been in my family for at least 6 generations now. I finally sat down with my stepmom to measure out the ingredients and convert it into an Instant Pot recipe. Perfect served over mashed potatoes for an easy weeknight comfort food dinner.

Instructions

Set Instant Pot to “Sauté” and adjust to “more”. Once the pot is hot, add oil. Place meat in the pot and top with Mrs. Dash, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is brown all over.

Add Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ketchup, and water. Close the lid, adjust the vent to “sealing” and set the Instant Pot to “Manual” high pressure for 20 minutes.

Once the timer goes off, manually release the pressure (quick release) before opening the lid. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. If you have time, you can set the pot back to “Sauté” for a few minutes with the lid off to let it bubble away to thickening the sauce a bit. Make sure to stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot so nothing burns.

Did you make this recipe?

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I love tweaking old family recipes to make them easier (so then we actually make them more often!) All those long simmering dishes made perfect sense when women were working at home all day – but these days, even SAHMs never seem to be home, but driving kids around.

Electric pressure cookers are so great for bringing mouth-watering tenderness to beef in a fraction of the time! I love the idea of serving the goulash over mashed potatoes… My mom did a goulash when I was growing up that went over wide egg noodles.

Lori H

My mom used to make BBQ chicken in the oven. The sauce was ketchup with brown sugar and chili powder. It doesn’t sound like it would be that great, but it was really good. And the juices on mashed potatoes were really good! My #1 favorite was her pot roast. So yummy!

There is nothing quite like slow cooked beef in a nice sauce during the winter months! I love the story about how it was one of those recipe that was toss in a bit of this and that. So typical of that generation before the digital age. Thanks for sharing!

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About Ashley Covelli

I’m the food writer, recipe developer + photographer behind Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen. I am dedicated to helping you (yes, you!) find your next favorite recipe. My goal is to encourage you to cook delicious food at home no matter what your skill level.